#Book Title Quest

[joandelahaye]

Help Me Name My Next Book! Uncover the Secrets of the Lost Kingdom of Lyonesse! 🏰🗝️ Book Deals and Freebies Await! 🎉

Hello, my Freaky Darlings! Greetings from the somewhat less frigid arse-end of Africa. Well, we’ve managed to avoid any bizarre gas explosions this week—hooray for small victories! However, we can’t say the same for the protest actions sprouting up all over the place, with burning tires and emergency service providers playing hide-and-seek with danger. It’s like watching a real-life game of cat…

[age-of-moonknight]

A Mighty Marvel Team-Up — Spider-Man: Quantum Quest! Graphic Novel. Amulet Books, 2024.

Writer and illustrator: Mike Maihack

[miinteaa]

Sskk redraw of a panel from The Disabled Tyrants Beloved Pet Fish

[technoschnauzer]

finally playing amphoreus and it really does feel like getting dropped into an entirely different world but idk if this 'i've been isekaied into a piece of fiction I have never read' vibe is what they were going for

[bellaroles]

Yu Ziyou's transformation from a very polite, nice mannered, upright gentleman in his teenage years to this unpredictable irritable and sometimes outright crazy adult is just so sad. Well, when he suddenly realized that one of his foundations in life is all a lie, then why should he care about anyone's opinions of him anymore. I don't know if it was half an act to get the enemies' attention off him or really the result of a major nervous breakdown or the side effect of that toxin he's been intentionally ingesting himself. It's sad he just didn't trust no one anymore.

Also the premise of whether once there was and wasn't a connection between Zhong Wan and himself in the past, Zhong Wan using false rumours of their romance as a shield for his adopted family was very interesting. Off to an ambiguous starts lol. I was expecting Yu Ziyou to be angry about it but his reaction really surprised me. Still he didn't trust Zhong Wan nor did Zhong Wan him. Watching them planning and scheming separately but with the same result in mind then slowly learning to trust each other is so interesting. I may not remember it clearly but I was so happy when they finally joined forces to work together and take their enemies down.

[mistninja]

I would have called the trilogy "The Unexpected Son" instead of "Fitz and the Fool" but i think we can all agree hobb isnt good at titles. Which is wild considering the important role that names play in the story

[fredseibertdotcom]

“Best of Original Cartoons”

Best of Original Cartoons P... by Fred Seibert

When I left Frederator and set up FredFilms a few years ago I updated the Best of Frederator book we published. And then, I either did new editions or updates of all nine (as of now) of our promotional books. You can check them out as the ‘FredFilms Professional Library.’ Each of them is available as a downloadable PDF, or you can get hard copies at Amazon and Bookshop.

There are posters, cartoon sketches and full color artwork, jokes, some incredible graphics,  and lots and lots of postcards. In the ‘Best of Original Cartoons,’ there’s some of each.

Hope you enjoy them.

[nobodieshero-main]

okay so i was thinking about ahuru, as one does, and i was thinking about how much i don't want her death to just. be keika's backstory, yknow??

like i don't want to reduce her to just the main characters motivation, which is why i try to give her so much life in any scene she's in. but i think i wanna like- so, ahuru's death literally shapes nobodies hero, right? there'd be no story to tell if she hadn't been killed. and that's kind of a Big Deal to me.

so i think i'm going to symbolise the fuck out of birds. foreshadowing or whatever.

like when keika first meets mattie- he's in priah and he still doesn't have his memories back. he decides to go for a walk, just wandering through the mushrooms and the woods and then all of a sudden a game bird gets shot with an arow right in front of him. and when he looks up, he sees mattie with a bow and arrow, and that's how they meet.

and then in the next book it's revealed that Mattie is, technically, responsible for ahuru's death. it wasn't personal, in the same way hunting that bird wasn't personal, it was just...self preservation. they just shot an arrow and watched it land.

[gollancz]

Guys. Christmas is coming. Consumerism is in the driver's seat and GAWD don't I know about the existential ennui of all these faceless corporations trying to schill you their wares. It's cold. Impersonal. Bleak.

So I, a fellow tumblr user, will instead try to schill you MY wares, so that when you purchase these items you can say "Hey, that person from tumblr worked on this", and feel the warmth of HUMAN CONNECTION in a way that is completely normal and not parasocial at all. We really are friends. I promise. Yes, you. Love you, bestie. Remember the boop war? Good times. Fond memories.

THIRTEEN STOREYS and FAMILY BUSINESS by Jonathan Sims

Tumblr's favourite Nightmare Factory @jonnywaistcoat has two novels out and they're phenomenal horror that also punch you in the throat with SOCIAL COMMENTARY and FEELINGS. He's so adept at tapping into the specific part of my brain that feels fear like a small child - not the adult creepy scared that I normally get around horror, but specifically the kind of fear that almost freezes your limbs and vocal chords with a terror you don't quite understand because there is so much in the world that you don't know, but you know that somehow this thing might be quick enough or smart enough or sneaky enough to get you before you can get to the safety of your parents sort of fear.

THIRTEEN STOREYS is a haunted house novel, but set in a refurbished block of flats. Each chapter follows a different resident being haunted in a different way, with a style to match the flavour of ghost. It's all tied together phenomenally and brutally.

FAMILY BUSINESS is a story about ghosts in a different way, following a woman who joins a post-mortem house cleaning service while grieving the death of her best friend. But as she removes the stains from the houses of the dead, she begins to suspect something else is removing even more.

Both of these titles are available from Gollancz worldwide!

THE LAST UNICORN, THE WAY HOME, THE INNKEEPER'S SONG and A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE by Peter S. Beagle

Obviously Peter's work needs no introduction, and our editions aren't available in the US and Canada, but I've had a wonderful time working with Peter and his team to bring these beautiful books back to the UK. Meeting him at Worldcon this year was such a magical moment, and he was jet-lagged and I had gone through sleep deprived into hyper and was bringing an Extremely Weird Energy to every interaction I had that day, resulting in this photo:

THE LAST UNICORN and THE WAY HOME are a matched pair of wonderful fairy stories. THE WAY HOME has two novellettes in it, and the first - 'Two Hearts' - won the Hugo award. It will also destroy you.

A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE was Peter's first ever novel, and it's wistful and romantic and so beautiful.

THE INNKEEPER'S SONG is his epic fantasy quest, it's an adventure story that reads almost lyrically. Also there's an orgy in the middle which caught me by surprise when I was reading it for the first time on the train into work.

HIGH VAULTAGE by Chris and Jen Sugden

It's possible that someone on this website doesn't know I was involved with this book but don't worry, I will HUNT THEM DOWN AND TELL THEM. This is the first book I took all the way through the editorial process from end to end and I am SO PROUD of it and Chris and Jen and their wonderful world of @victoriocity. Officially one of the seven funniest books published in the UK this year, shortlisted for the Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. It's a chaotic, bonkers murder mystery set in an alternate Victorian London which is the most gleeful dystopia I have ever encountered.

Featuring:

Grumpy Sunshine besties

The Victorian Equivalent of the Chuck Norris Meme

A robot who undertook a course in People Management

An indefatigable beagle

This is another book that you can get from Gollancz all over the world, and you SHOULD because it's amazing. Go into your local bookshop and ask them to order it into stock. It's a great Christmas present. It's my firstborn book baby (like that's a completely normal thing to say when I didn't even write it). Also if you're a fan of the podcast, why not tell the Guardian how great it is, and make a nuisance of yourself until they review. (I would, but the form asks for your name and then they'd know I didn't suddenly discover Victoriocity this year. Either that or think I was a very careless editor.) If you've not listened to the podcast yet, you absolutely should. It pings all my Douglas Adams receptors in the best way. If you like HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE, if you like CABIN PRESSURE, VICTORIOCITY is the perfect addition.

HAMMAJANG LUCK by Makana Yamamoto

SLIGHTLY cheating because HAMMAJANG LUCK isn't out in North America until January (pre-orders make great Christmas presents guys), but it IS out in the UK and the rest of the world next week! This is my second big editorial project and it's a Big Gay Space Heist ft. disaster lesbians, trans characters, and a tech billionaire getting put in his place. It's joyous and energetic and crammed full of Hawaiian pidgin as a love letter to the diaspora. @makana-yama is a phenomenal writer and this is their love letter to their communities, families both born and found, while also a statement on the victims of gentrification (and how those are disproportionally BIPOC communities). PLUS:

friends to enemies to cautious allies to lovers

trans cyborgs

Suck It Space Elon

You know that One Scene in Charlie's Angels where Cameron Diaz is in the white body suit and breaking into the safe and has to stretch out to hit two buttons at once? Yeah. That's the vibe.

Being able to work with Makana is a delight, and HAMMAJANG tapped into all the feelings I got watching LEVERAGE for the first time, so I went to watch it again while I was editing. Also OCEAN'S 8.

DEEP BLACK by Miles Cameron

So, barring Branderson, Miles Cameron may be one of our most prolific authors. He writes a minimum two books a year, one SFF and one historical fiction (as Christian Cameron) and he is... An absolute phenomenon. He IS the Chuck Norris meme. I'm obsessed with him. He's former US military intelligence turned naturalised Canadian Hippy, has written over fifty novels, can turn his hand to any genre and write it fantastically, is a practical archaeologist - running large scale re-enactments from a variety of periods ranging from Bronze Age right the way up to the Victorian era, using traditional techniques to allow academics to study how the practicalities of weapons, clothes, food etc. would have worked in practice. Two years ago he won a medieval combat tournament in Verona, a clear ten years older at least than the next oldest competitor, he teaches Historical European Martial Arts, but ties it into the history of martial arts globally. He can make his own clothes, ink, leatherwork. He's a ballet dancer. I once took him for a day out and he ended it in a different shirt and shoes from the ones he'd started in. I asked him for an author photo and he sent me this:

DEEP BLACK is the sequel to his critically acclaimed SF debut ARTIFACT SPACE, where he has taken his research and experience of global historical cultures and extrapolated to create an interplanetary future where the best of all are celebrated. And then Aliens Happen. And then, in reaction, Capitalism Happens (which is covered in the short story collection BEYOND THE FRINGE).

He's such a thoughtful and erudite speaker, if you're curious about his work, I'd recommend listening to his episodes on the Friends Talking Fantasy podcast, and also his appearance on The Publishing Rodeo.

If SF isn't your bag, he's also got:

Arthurian fantasy

Bronze Age fantasy

Medieval Mages fantasy

A CURSE OF CROWS - Lauren Dedroog

I actually inherited Lauren when a colleague of mine departed for fresh pastures, which gave me the great opportunity to work on this series which is so vastly different from my usual fare. It's epic, sweeping, romantic and lush, with such detailed description and complex political machinations, while also being brutal, dark and heavy (tw: for sexual assault, torture etc, etc.). If you like Sarah J Maas and Cassandra Clare, this should hit the sweet spot. Lauren is an ICU nurse when not writing, and this was somehow created when she was putting in a million hours in hospitals during COVID. The feat boggles my mind.

A CURSE OF CROWS is out now in the UK, Australia and Europe, and it won the People's Choice for Standaard Boek's Book of the Year award in 2023, in her home country of Belgium. It will be hitting shelves in North America next September! A DANCE OF SERPENTS is where I get to pick up the editorial mantle, and that has just landed in my inbox this week so I am excited to dig in.

Featuring:

Harold, they're lesbians

Murder baby is actually a cinnamon roll

Sensitive wings are sexy

For serious, though, I'm lucky enough to work with a lot of authors I'm genuinely obsessed and astounded by. And yes, I do get to work on Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson and Andrzej Sapkowski, but they're not MY authors - they're led by the incredible Gillian and Marcus who I'm not 100% certain sleep. There are so many people on the Gollancz list who I could recommend for DAYS (and will, if you so request), but this is my stable of superstars.

[ruegarding]

so. percy's arc in boo (learning to step back, allowing leo to sacrifice himself despite his loyalty/fatal flaw) sucks. for many reasons.

for one, percy yielding is such an integral part of pjo. all of pjo. but even if u somehow missed it in the first four books, tlo explicitly spells it out. "sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding" hestia says to percy. "i yield when necessary. can you do this?" and then this is the climax of the story. "you are not the hero...it will affect what you do." percy has spent the last five books being told that he's the super powerful chosen one able to save or destroy the world, and he still chooses to yield to someone that has done nothing but betray him. "the line from the great prophecy echoed in my head...my whole world tipped upside down, and i gave the knife to luke." hoo acting like this is a lesson percy needs to learn is an affront to reading comprehension. percy lives bc he yields. and then he does it (yielding) again when he surrenders godhood, and power, to choose other demigods instead. this is not subtle writing.

for two, percy has rejected power, and his title, for the entirety of his story. percy doesn't even fully recognize how powerful he is until the volcano in botl. and he had to be told directly that it wasn't a fluke. then in son, percy immediately rejects the power and status offered to him. repeatedly. reyna offers him praetorship, he turns it down. frank is abt to let percy climb the wall first in the war games, percy says it was frank's claim. percy doesn't even want to go on the son quest but relents bc frank asked him. in moa, percy never demands that he lead. instead, he includes frank where he probably wasn't necessary, supports hazel, encourages annabeth, follows leo and piper's lead, and strategizes w jason. he isn't acting as a leader, but rather as part of a team. percy didn't need to "step back," the writing for the other characters needed to step up.

for three, percy had to be kidnapped and manipulated to be on this entire quest. he's not there bc he has a hero complex. acting like he has to learn to step back when he was quite literally shoved into place is wild.

for four, an integral part of percy's character is freedom, autonomy, and he extends this to the ppl he's loyal to. this is pretty explicitly established in tlt: "you're enough like me to understand," sally says. "if my life is going to mean anything, i have to live it myself." percy respects ppl's decisions. this is one of the first lessons he learns when he becomes a hero and an integral part of pjo: percy has to let sally save herself. percy has to let tyson go to the boiler. percy has to let bianca defeat talos. percy has to let nico walk away. percy has to let annabeth fight. if he loves them, he's going to let their lives mean something. even in hoo, percy still lets annabeth go on her quest alone, despite hating it, despite disagreeing w it, bc it's not his place to tell her what she can and can't do. this is her life. she has to live it. so this plotline doesn't even work it we ignore all of pjo and focus solely on hoo.

this theme of autonomy is especially important bc pjo is abt disability. one of the first things ppl try to take away from u when ur disabled is ur autonomy. the fact that percy vehemently defends it not just for himself but for others is essential to the narrative. percy advocates for other demigods, other disabled kids, and tyson, and he does so while maintaining their autonomy. it's why he's the leader, it's why he's the protagonist, it's why there is a callback to it in every pjo book. trying to act like he wouldn't respect someone's autonomy is a bastardization of this entire theme. which is actually fitting for hoo considering it bastardizes the rest of pjo anyway.

[arc-misadventures]

The Lady of Frozen Glades

Ren: Brrbrrbrrbrrbrr!

Ren: Why is it so freaking cold?!

Jaune: 1: We're in the mountains, it's always cold up here. 2: We're in the, Frozen Glades. By the name alone it should have been oblivious that it's going to be cold. 3: You are wearing thin robes more fit for summer weather, then the frozen mountains!

Ren: I thought I wouldn't need winter clothes... Achoo!

Jaune: Ren?! We're on a quest to slay an ice dragon. Of fucking course it's going to be cold!

Ren: I just didn't think it would be this cold!

Jaune: You idiot...

Ren: Come on, let's just finish this so we can go home...

Jaune: Okay, let's try this cave here.

Ren: What makes you think they're in this cave?

Jaune: The giant claw marks on the walls, and the floor.

Ren: ...

Ren: Oh...

~~~

Jaune: Okay... This is a big room...

Ren: This looks... Achoo! Ahh... Sniff! This looks like the place... But, where is it? Did we... Achoo! Did we miss it...

Jaune: I don't know, maybe we did. Well, we could set up a trap, and wait for it to come here.

Ren: Wait here... Achoo! I-I-In the cold...?!

Jaune: Well do you have a better...?

(Click, click, click, click, click...)

Jaune: Are those... Does that sound like high heels?

Ren: I think... Achoo! I think it is...

Jaune: Who would be wearing high heels in a mountain? Much less on a field of ice. That's cra... Oh... Ohhhh!

Ren: 'Ohhh?' Wha... Achoo! What's... Oh...

(Click, Click, Click...)

: Oh? More adventures? Are you here to kill me?

Jaune: That depends, are you the Ice Dragon of the Frozen Glades in human form?

: Yes, I am, Weiss the Elemental Frost Dragon of the Frozen Glades. And, are you more foolish adventurers who have come to slay me?

Jaune: Uhhh... No. No, we are not here to slay you.

Weiss: Really now?

Ren: What?! Achoo! The quest was to slay the ice dragon?

Jaune: 'Slay?' There's no, 'S' in the title... It says, 'Lay the Dragon.'

Ren: Bull...! Achoo! Bullshit! You just want to smash the dragon!

Jaune: Shoot me, I'm a Paladin...

Weiss: A paladin...

Ren: Of the Summer Maiden...

Weiss: A Paladin of the Summer Maiden~?

Jaune: No, I was just going to say I'm a paladin. We paladins have a love hate relationship with dragons. Half of us want to kill them, the other half want's to sleep with them.

Weiss: Sleep... w-with a dragon...?

Jaune: Hell, two of my sisters are half dragons! One's a flame dragon, and the other is earth dragon. And, like all dragons they all have their hordes of treasures!

Ren: They both... Achoo! They both have a treasure hold of gold? Achoo!

Jaune: No, my goblin sister is the one with the treasure horde. My sister who is the fire dragon has a treasure horde of mystical weapons, she's really into mystical weapons. She tried to steal my holy sword. Several times at that...

Jaune: My sister the earth dragon, has a horde of books! Lots, and lots of books!

Ren: How many?

Jaune: Ever heard of the, Library of Il'ithyca?

Ren: Yeah, it's the... Achoo! Achoo! Sniff... It's the words largest library...

Jaune: That's my sister's library.

Ren: What?!

Weiss: Oh! Your, Thiriana's little brother!

Jaune: Oh, you know my sister?

Weiss: Yes! We talk a lot about our favourite books! She has told me a lot about you when we were discussing my favourite book.

Jaune: What book?

Weiss: The... The Dragon's Knight~!

Jaune: 'The Dragon's Knight...?' What is that book ab...?! Oh... Oh that book...

Weiss: Yes. That book~!

Ren: What do you mean by that?

Jaune: Uhhh, Ren. You can go back to the inn, and warm up. I need to, 'Slay' the dragon...

Ren: What...?! Achoo! You're not going to kill her! You're going to sleep with her!

Jaune: And, you're going to freeze to death the longer you stay here.

Ren: ...

Ren: Achoo!

Ren: Sniff... Well, I'll see you back at the inn!

Jaune: See you later, Ren.

Jaune: Now then... Tell me, Weiss, Ice Dragon of the Frozen Glades. Which chapter is your favourite?

Weiss: Chapter 21!

Jaune: Oh? Good choice~!

[fallecer-et-quetzal]

*Clucking noises*

"Hrrmm yes, garlic pasta does sound good right now"

[+10 Shrons]

"A tip for your cat watching pleasures: during cold days, you may keep a basket or a box of sorts near the heat and in the sun to lure cats into them. The smaller the container is, the more they have to squeeze into them the better they will like it."

[+50 shrons]

[Total: 110 shrons]

—-----------------

Today's Quests

Draw a small room 50 shrons

Tell us what you would like to eat at the moment 10 shrons

Give us a tip on any topic you like 50 shrons

—-----------------

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

I wonder sometimes if Luis giving himself the title Don Quixote was self-deprecating in some way. Like SURELY he knew that the book itself was a satire on the genre of knighthood and chivalry, SURELY he picked up on the fact that Alonso was ridiculed at best and his quests were seen as foolish and delusions of grandeur right?? Did he he use the title of Don Quixote as a form of self-mockery and as a way to shield his self-loathing and guilt from the world with the facade of a confident knight???? Or did he throw himself into the interpretation of the book he fell in love with as a little boy, and clung onto the hope that maybe, MAYBE, his time would be different, that this time his journey WOULDN’T end in him as the fool again, that his dreams of a better and kinder world weren’t for nothing and that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza always made it out in the end??

Or did he know, regardless of his own feelings towards the character and the text, that it’d end in tragedy either way. Cuz surely, he knew he wasn’t gonna make it out of Valdelobos alive, no matter how badly he wanted to, no matter how much he fought tooth and nail to get out and right his wrongs for a better world. Maybe he took solace in the tragedy that was Alonso Quixana’s life and took on the role as a way of accepting his fate; that he’d meet an early death in the same village he grew up in, in the same place his Grandfather died in. Maybe that’s why he was so adamant on calling Leon his ‘Sancho’-

Cuz he knew Sancho would make it out alive, and Don Quixote wouldn’t. Maybe that’s why he was so adamant on having Leon be his Sancho. Cuz he knew, in the end, it was Sancho who saved Princess Dulcinea. It was Sancho who stayed by Alonso’s side right to the very end, and got to live his own happily ever after. Or, maybe, Luis was just hoping that Leon would provide the same comfort and security that Sancho did for Alonso- seeing past his delusions and mistakes for the man he truly is deep down inside. Even if it meant dying for him.

[tjalexandernyc]

He's got a cover! May I please introduce A Gentleman's Gentleman, out March 11, 2025 from Vintage Books.

You can help support my m/m trans historical romance right now, though! Please consider preordering from your bookshop of choice, adding it to your to-read list on GoodReads or Storygraph, or requesting your local library procure a copy (that's ISBN 9780593686201 in the US, 9780008716332 in the UK).

Note to UK folks: your version will be titled The Earl Meets His Match and will have a different cover (TBD).

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of Chef's Kiss, a groundbreaking trans Regency romance that's both delightfully witty and refreshingly iconoclastic. The notoriously eccentric Lord Christopher Eden is a “man of unusual make” and even more unusual habits: he prefers to live far from the prying eyes and ears of the ton, and would rather have the comfortable company of his childhood cook and his aged butler than the swarm of servants and hangers-on befitting a man of his station. But Christopher’s pleasant, if occasionally lonely life is upended when he receives word from his lawyers that, according to his late father’s will, he must find a wife by the end of the Season if he intends to keep his family’s fortune and the Eden estate. Christopher cannot imagine a worse fate: as he isn’t attracted to women, his chances of making a wife happy are slim. Furthermore, if his quest to marry has any hope of succeeding, he must move to London posthaste and acquire some more suitable staff. Enter James Harding, Christopher’s new, distractingly handsome—if rigidly traditional—valet. After a rocky start, the two strike up a fragile friendship amid the throes of the London Season . . . a friendship that threatens to shatter under the looming shadow of Christopher’s impending nuptials—and the secrets both men are keeping. With its heady combination of dry wit, slow-burn romance, and a nuanced portrait of trans identity, A Gentleman’s Gentleman stands to transform the historical romance genre as we know it.

Cover design by Mark Abrams

Photography by Alun Callender

Modeling by Zack Pinsent of Pinsent Tailoring

[theauthorandtheartist]

I think that, in Hyrule, there would be some legislature specific to the heroes. Like, there would be some protections in the books so that the hero wouldn't get sued or arrested for doing his job or protecting himself. There would probably even be laws specifically to help him along. (Disclaimer, I know nothing about how laws are made in a monarchy, or how to word them in legalese).

I think one of them would just be titled The Hero's Duty Act (and you bet that gets made fun of by everybody). It would basically state that a dedicated Hero of Hyrule has the express permission and ability to take care of a major threat in any way he deems appropriate: whether that be by sealing or execution or some other fashion. That way, after the journey is over, no stilted goons can come after the hero in court for murder or unlawful imprisonment. Of course, there would be Hella stipulations for what counts as a "major threat," as well as conditions that need to be met in order to qualify as a Hero of Hyrule.

"Impeeding the Hero's Journey" would be a crime. Basically, if anyone knowingly and in their right mind tries to hinder or full-on stop the hero from completing his quest, they can be arrested. I'd imagine the punishment would scale with the level of offence (a fine for needlessly charging the hero more for potions (since he kinda HAS to buy them), jailtime for blocking his way or restraining him somehow, or execution if you actively try to murder the kid (and he doesn't get you first)). You bet there are lawyers trying to prove in court that their clients didn't know that the skinny twink in green swinging a sword around was the hero, or that they were totally mind controlled.

There would probably be some sort of national emergency price cap specifically for when the hero is questing. Like, usually a red potion would go for 60-80 rupees a pop, but when catastrophe strikes the merchants are required to lower the price to 20 rupees max in order accommodate the influx of injured people and make sure the hero can survive off of minish-gifts and dropped monster wallets. The fine for breaking this law would stack with the fine for Impeding the Hero's Journey because come on man, that's just a dick move; he's like ten.

Of course, there's an entire section of the "self-defense" defense completely dedicated towards the hero, and what does and does not count as self-defense when fighting hylian foes. It's basically the same as the regular self-defense laws, but with mind-control added in and with words specific to the hero. It's in the books pretty much exclusively to prevent grieving angry families from coming after the traumatized ten year old who just saved them.

None of those laws probably existed when the first few heroes were around, in fact, I'd imagine that most of them didn't get written into legislature until the Hero of Legend. I'd imagine that "Impeding the Hero's Journey" would be written in sometime around the Hero of the Four Sword era, as well as a few of the self-defense laws, but the Hero's Duty Act and the finer details of the mind control stuff wouldn't be penned until after the Hero of Legend dealt with Aganahim.

There would probably be more hero-specific laws, but I can't think of any at the moment. If anyone more versed in law wants to revise or add any to my list, feel free.

[leashybebes]

seventeen, or forty, or nine! :^)

here is number 9 - bookstore AU. went for more of a meetcute vibe than either of them working in a bookshop but *handwave*

Buck's tried three book stores, two of which got him blank looks, and one an apology about being out of stock and an offer to order in. Karen's birthday drinks are tomorrow night, so that's a bust. He's already got her actual gift, but he saw the book title in a list of queer non-fiction recommendations that he was browsing the other night for…reasons he's kind of feeling his way around the edges of, and it jumped out at him immediately. The reviews are kinda mixed, but the title is too good to pass up, and he knows Karen will get a kick out of it even if she doesn't wind up loving the book itself.

His final stop is Skylight Books in Los Feliz and in the crowded shop, with shelves of all heights and at all angles, it takes him a second to find the queer section mainly because - as he belatedly realises, a big, bulky guy is blocking the sign as he stands with his arms folded, scanning the shelves. Buck ducks towards it, sees the title of the book, a single copy whose cover proudly proclaims Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America. And then the title is obscured when the guy reaches out his big hand and scoops it up, and Buck blurts, "Wait, wait, no!"

The guy looks at him, eyebrows up, dark blue eyes a picture of puzzlement and Buck's reasons for scanning those lists of queer literature and movies and history crystallise sharply. He's gorgeous. He's so tall and so broad and his eyes are so pretty and his jaw is so stubbly and strong and Buck wants to taste it. He also really, really wants that book.

"Hi," Buck says breathlessly. "I'm really sorry, but I need that book."

The guy glances down to the book, back up to Buck.

"I hate to pull playground rules, but finders keepers, man."

"No, wait, you don't understand, it's a birthday present."

"Same," the guy says, starting to step around Buck and towards the checkout. Buck's heart sinks at the imminent disappearance of both the book and the guy.

"No, no, c'mon, the birthday drinks are tomorrow, you've got time to find another copy, right?"

"That's a coincidence," the guy says. "My friend's birthday drinks are also tomorrow. Sorry."

"No, wait, like - look, I saw the book on this list of like - interesting queer non-fiction, and uh, my friend - well, my friend's wife originally, but my friend too now, she's so cool and so interesting and I think I gotta ask her questions about like. Being queer. So this would be a really great segue into talking to her about how I'm like…ninety percent sure I'm bisexual - " Some reflex takes over and Buck does a quick up and down glance of the guy's body. " - ninety nine percent sure, okay, so like. You gotta help me out, man."

The guy blinks, something amused in the small curve of his lips. "No dice, buddy. No one gave me a coming out book shield, so. You'll do fine."

"Aw, c'mon, please! Karen's so cool, and I - "

"Wait, Karen Wilson?"

Buck blinks. "Uh. Yeah? What the hell?"

"I used to work with Hen."

Buck's head is filled with static, running through a mental rolodex of people Hen or Chim have ever mentioned as predating him at the 118. There's always the chance this guy is a pharmaceutical rep, but he definitely has more of a firefighter's build. 

"I work with Hen right now!" Buck says.

The guy looks him up and down, tilts his head. "Wait. Are you the - the disaster magnet probie?"

"Yes!" Buck says, way more pleased than he should be. "I mean, not anymore, I haven't been a probie in years, but uh. That's me! Evan Buckley!"

"Tommy," the guy says, and holds out the book. "Going on what I know, there's a non-zero chance the store collapses in on us if you don't get your way, so. Here you go. Good luck with the bisexuality."

"It, uh - it could be a joint present?" Buck suggests, his mouth taking over. 

Tommy's eyebrows go up again. "Little early for that, isn't it?"

"Get coffee with me, then," Buck offers, his heart in his mouth. He's asking out a guy. He's asking out the hottest guy he's ever seen. He's asking out the hottest guy he's ever seen and if he crashes and burns he's going to have to see him tomorrow at Karen's birthday drinks and - 

"Sure," Tommy says, half-smirk broadening into a smile that lights up his whole face. "I'd like that, Evan."